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m.^lam^MmSSi^i'^Wle^iwAhhe^r.^ . ,■- ■ • 



A 



SHORT INQUIRY 



NATURE OF LANGUAGE, 



WITH A VI KW TO 



ASCERTAIN THE ORIGINAL MEANINGS 



SANSKRIT PREPOSITIONS ; 



Er.I'ClDATED BV 



COMPARISONS WITH THE GREEK AND LATIN. 



nv 



SIR GRAVES C. HAUGHTON, KNT., K.H. 

M.A., F.R.S., M.R.A.S., R.I.A., &o. 




LONDON. 



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SHORT INQUIRY 



INTO THE 



NATURE OF LANGUAGE, 



WITH A VIKVV TO 



ASCERTAIN THE ORIGINAL MEANINGS 



SANSKRIT PREPOSITIONS; 



ELUCIDATED By 



COMPARISONS WITH THE GREEK AND LATIN. 



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SIR GRAVES C. HAUGHTON, KNT., K.H. 

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Lincoln's-Inn Fields. 



Those parts of the following observations which relate to the Verb and the 
Preposition were printed nearly twenty years ago, in the author's Grammar of 
the Bengali Language ; and the remarks on the Voices of the Verb appeared in 
his edition of the Institutes of Menu, Sanscrit and English. These were collected 
together, and, with the remaining elucidations on language in general, printed 
by way of an Introduction to his Dictionary of the Bengali and Sanscrit Languages. 
Advantage was taken of that occasion, to print some additional copies, with a view 
to a separate publication ; but they have lain by him for a period of six years, 
under the conviction that they were not of sufficient interest to draw the attention 
of mere classical students. That they are now attempted to be made known, 
arises from the fact, that they have met with the approbation of some of the first 
scholars of this country and of the continent ; and that there was every danger of 
their perishing, either by decay or damp. 

Qth July, 1839. 



SHORT INQUIRY, 

4-c. 8sc. 



INTRODUCTION. 

In every inquiry which we make into the nature of language, we are bound to ascertain its relation 
to tlie other phenomena of nature, and to consider it as something more than a detached and subser- 
vient instrument of thought. When we examine language with care, it seems almost as mysterious as 
every thing else which surrounds us. We are apt to think that those things with which we are 
familiarised from childhood possess nothing either profound or perplexing. When, however, we inquire 
into the remote principles of language, we find that it shares in the mystery and obscurity in which all 
the phenomena of nature are involved. 

When language began to be employed by man, he was not yet aware of the relation in which he 
stood to the rest of nature ; nor did he know that he was himself formed and directed by laws that 
rendered him subservient to the circumstances by which he was surrounded, and to which his own 
nature bore a close analogy. But when we investigate language, and rise from effects to causes, we 
are compelled to feel that man was merely a passive instrument, if not in its formation, at least in 
its improvement ; and we acquire the connction that we must thoroughly comprehend the nature of 
tliis first offspring of the human mind, before we can hope to arrive at any legitimate conclusion as to 
the laws that regulate the phenomena of mind itself. But if language has its basis in the principles of 
nature, we must not forget that its perfection is the result of Progression, which is hkewise the 
foundation of all improvement. 

Marii in the infancy of society, himself a mere infant in thought, was impelled by the pressure of 
his wants to the formation of a medium by which he might communicate with his own kind. The 



4 A SHORT INQUIRY INTO 

puppet of Nature, he was led by her to the formation of an instrument that has enabled him, by 
affixing names to his ideas, to turn general sentiments, which alone he could othenvise have felt, into 
indi\adual thoughts. His mind being a sort of mirror that reflected every thing he felt and saw, he was 
driven by the principles implanted in his nature to the use of articulate sounds, with which as with 
colours he painted his own perceptions. 

That language adapted itself in its infancy merely to represent the physical phenomena of nature 
will be evident by an analysis of its parts.A'^All things material were designated by the Noun, while 
the motions of these objects were indicated by the Verb in its simplest form. Such was the first step 
in language. The next was to invent words that should limit and define the points to which the motion 
implied by the verb tended, and thence resulted the Preposition ; and it violl be found that every 
subject may be conveyed intelligibly, though with some tautology, by these three parts of speech, and 
they consequently .constitute the foundation of language. To express the physical qualities of the noun, 
it was only necessary to join to it some other noun which possessed in a prominent degree the quality 
which it was wished to attribute to it. Thus to express the different colours, such as green, red, ichite, 
&c. the names for grass, rose, snow, &c. or some other objects with the same striking qualities, were 
employed ; so also the name for a lion, a fox, an ass, &c. served to designate the qualities of courage, 
cunning, stupidity, &c. ; and these became the first Adjectives.* The Adverb was employed instead 
of a whole phrase to complete some accessory idea of the verb, such as the nature, manner, quality, 
or intensity of its motion or action. From this it is evident that the adjective defined the noun in 
the same way as the adverb did the verb. The junction of one thing with another was intimated by 
the Conjunction. The Pronouns for I and thou must have been of the earliest invention in language, 
as they represented the speaker and the person spoken to, perhaps even before either had a name. 
The Interjection was employed to rouse the attention of another, or to mark the excitement felt by 
the person employing it. The Article (derived fi-om the demonstrative pronoun) was the last improve- 
ment of speech, and is only found in those languages which have advanced to their utmost perfection 
of form. 

But if we are anxious to push our enquiries to the utmost limits of human investigation, we shall find 
a reason for the uniform and universal laws that govern the philosophy of language in every varied con- 
dition and peculiarity of the human race. It must be evident that speech was either conferred upon 
man at his creation, or arose imperceptibly as it was required by his wants. If the first, we must 



* It was owing to his having considered the abstract nature of qualities, that Adam Smith was led into 
llie error of supposing that adjectives must have cost a great effort to the human mind in their invention. 
The nature of qualities is of very difiiqult conception ; but their designation by an adjective, it will be seen, 
was very easy. 



THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE. 6 

suppose it was once perfectly adapted to nature and to the social and intellectual relations in which he 
was to stand to his fellow man. But if it arose gradually, it was called into existence by'the exigencies 
of his situation and the circumstances by which he was surrounded ; and in either case it must be 
considered as the reflex of his sensations and perceptions, and consequently will be in exact relation to 
the general laws of nature. It is on this account that the Noun and Verh had each its archetype in 
MATTER and MOTION ; and the Preposition that marked local relation, and the Termination or 
Auxiliary that denoted the tenses of the verb, had each its original in space and time long anterior 
to the appearance of man on the earth. Language is thus forced to adapt itself to an abstract model 
that eludes all investigation. Space and Time being the mere concomitants of matter and motion, and 
having therefore a relative and not an absolute existence, language will be often found to notice them 
only by implication;* and this might be adduced as a further proof of the dependence of language on 
those remote principles of nature, which influence the mind of man without his being conscious of 
their agency. 

It is owing to this plastic influence exerted over language and the imitative tendency of the mind, as 
well as the analogies to which it has recourse in all its deficiencies, that words which were originally 
participles or adjectives are employed permanently as nouns ; and that nouns themselves acquire the 
force and nature of verbs or prepositions, and are classed, unconsciously by the mind, with those parts 
of speech to which they have, by a new use, acquired an affinity. And in the same way that such 
new words become either nouns, verbs, &c. so did the first primitive sounds conform to that abstract 
model which existed before either words or man, and which language adapted itself to delineate, and 
has, as it were, reproduced or reflected with considerable accuracy and fidelity. Hence, whatever may 
be the etymological sense of Nouns, Verbs, and Prepositions, they must ultimately represent the various 
modifications of Matter and Motion, T^ime and Space : for language would be a mere jumble of sounds, 
barely sufficient to indicate the more pressing wants and sentiments of our nature, if it had not had 
some guiding principles to which it originally conformed. 

In consequence of the connection existing between the elementary principles of nature, and to which 
language unconsciously conforms, every investigation respecting the Noun, Verb, and Preposition-f- must 



* It may be seen that language often only notices them by implication ; for when we say he walked to 
town, both space and time are implied ; and when we say the bird Jlew over the field, thoug-h space is 
expressed by the preposition over, still the verb to fly implies both space and time; for all motion must be 
through space and in time. But independently of the different tenses which specifically mark time, and the 
prepositions which designate the different relations of space, language necessarily comprehends one or other 
of these two categories in every primitive word ; e. g. a house must exist both in space and time. 

+ Though the Preposition only marks local relation, it can in no way be omitted in an investigation into 

B the 



6 A SHORT INQUIRY INTO 

be conducted with a due consideration of their mutual dependence. To consider anyone of them without 
reference to the other two must lead to a partial, limited, and unsatisfactory result. These three parts 
of speech, therefore, being the mutual complements of one another, the truth can be alone elicited by 
considering them together. If it is conceded that Prepositions originally implied local relations, and 
the position seems hardly possible to be denied. Verbs must then be allowed to denote the different kinds 
of physical motion produced by the objects represented by Nouns. Hence there is an indissoluble 
connection existing between Nouns, Verbs, and Prepositions. 

Such is the nature of the first or primitive state of language ; but it deposes this physical character as 
soon as it is employed to represent those abstract relations, which, in proportion to the extent and accuracy 
with which they are comprehended by any individual, raise him, in the scale of reason, almost as much 
above the rest of mankind, as man is elevated above the brute. 



OF THE NOUN. 



Nouns may be divided into two classes, that is to say into concrete and abstract. 

Concrete Nouns are the names of such things as are perceived by the organs of sense, such as a 
house, a man, a tree, &c. As a further example, by the ear we perceive a sound, by the eye a colour, 
by the nose a scent, by the palate a taste, and by the skin or touch the air ; not one of which could 
we have discovered by any other organ than that which makes them respectively known to us. Concrete 
Nouns, therefore, are the names of things made known by the senses. 

Abstract Nouns are the names of mental perceptions, whether they relate to actions, acts, results, 
states, modes, relations, powers, qualities, numbers, degrees, sensations, ox passions.* Abstract Nouns, 
therefore, are the names of such things as are perceptible only to the mind. It will be evident that 
language to be definite, and therefore perfect, ought to have a precise and distinct termination for each 
class of abstract words. Such a provision would be of wonderful aid to abstract speculation, and 

the basis of language, as the motions of all things in nature have their limits, which are alone defined by 
this part of speech; and it is as necessary to the Verb as those terminations or auxiliaries which mark time 
past, present, or future. It is on this account that it is almost invariably found compounded with it, as in 
Sanskrit, Greek, and Latin, or put immediately after it, as in English. 

* Examples: The action of striking., running, &c. produces the acts called a stroke, a run, &c.; so 
the ACTION of bearing produces the result called a birth. The state of sleeping results in sleep, 
and of dying in death. The term result is of indispensable use : for instance, a birth is not an act ; and the 
Sanskrit language has a particular form for this class of abstract ideas. Such words are usually formed 
by the termination 1^ ii, e. g. *^l^3 krili, a make. See Sir Charles Wilkins' Grammar, Rule 830. 



THE NATURE OP LANGUAGE. 7 

relieves the mind from much unnecessary labour, as it places the conceptions of the writer in the exact 
light in which they are intended by him. Any one who will take the trouble of analysing the variety 
of senses in which the word vision is employed in the English language, or still more .particularly the 
word motion, will see that the sense ia which these words may be employed by a writer or speaker, can 
alone be discovered by a painful application of thought. In the same way the French have only one 
word for conscience and consciousness, which must often be the cause of obscurity. The Sanskrit and 
Latin are both particularly rich in such distinct forais ; but some confusion is occasionally observable in 
both these languages (though less in the former than in the latter) owing to the terminations having 
been improperly added by careless or illogical thinkers. For this, however, every allowance is necessary 
as mental perceptions do so closely approximate to one another, that it is frequently very difficult to 
discriminate to which class they properly belong; and indeed, in some instances, the same idea may be 
referred to more than one class, and some of the classes likewise would admit of subdivision. 

A complete classification of the distinct perceptions of the mind is a great desideratum towards a 
perfect analysis of thought. Were a philosophic language ever to be invented this enquiry would be a 
preliminary step of indispensable necessity ; as well as that of determining the distinct local relations 
for which prepositions ought to be used, and by limiting each to one definite sense, to prevent all chance 
of confusion and misconception.* 



* A systematic classification, such as is here contemplated, would be of great value in forming' the mind 
for metaphysical inquiries. An analysis of any process of reasoning, carried on with a reference to its 
distinctions, would afford the student a safe clue in many of the intricacies of thought in which he is often 
bewildered ; and would give a clearness, and a consequent conviction of abstract truth, which the mind 
io vain seeks for when left to its own intuitive powers. Such an artificial aid would lead to the instant 
detection of sophistry in abstract speculations ; for without a clear conception of the distinct diflPerences of 
abstract words there can be no certainty in our conclusions. The employment of such a system of analysis 
would be an excellent conclusion to ordinary grammar, and might be termed abstract or transcendental 
grammar. Matters of-^eeling and opinion cannot from their nature admit of demonstration ; but abstract 
questions, if the terms were properly defined, and the class of ideas to which they relate distinctly kept in 
view, ought to be as capable of proof as the things from which they are abstracted. Of the importance of 
always attending to the class of ideas to which any word belongs, every reasoning mind will be fully con- 
vinced by a little reflection. For instance, philosophers may be asked when they speak of the propagation of 
motion,' do they mean change of place or the something ponderable or imponderable that produces such an 
appearance ? If the former, the word is clearly an abstract noun ; but if the latter, it is a concrete noun, 
and refers to a different class of ideas, and must consequently give rise to perfectly different conclusions in 
any process of reasoning. 

B 2 



8 A SHORT INQUIRY INTO 

The noun of itself, without some verb being expressed or understood, cannot form a rational expres- 
sion ; it is on this account that, though the noun may seem the most obvious part of speech, yet still its 
precise, meaning can be understood only by a reference to a verb; it being by means of this part of 
speech that all the operations of indicating, comparing, and reasoning are performed and determined. 
Hence there is an obvious necessity for bearing in mind the reciprocal influence of Noun and Verb, and 
also, as has been already shewn, of the Preposition, in every investigation into the nature of any one of 
these three fundamental parts of speech. 



OF THE VERB. 



The following sketch of the Verb in its different voices or states has been written in a concise way, to 
explain its real nature to the enquiring student.* 

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 

In the infancy of language the verb merely denoted the modes of motion peculiar to the simplest 
objects of nature, as to fly, to run, to strike, &c., but in process of time, as language became perfect, 
the verb adapted itself to the expression of every want of the human mind, and in this state it is con- 
sidered as denoting action, being, or suffering. But it is solely by a metaphorical use that language is 
fitted for describing abstract ideas, and for this purpose the verb divests itself of its essential attribute, 
which is motion in a physical sense. 

In all inquiries into language, the origin and formation of the verb has ever been deemed a subject of 
the liighest interest. Either the first primitive language consisted simply of Substantives, which were 
insensibly moulded into Verbs and Prepositions, or the whole three sprang almost simultaneously into 
existence ; but whether they are words originally and especially invented to mark motion, or have been 
adapted by degrees to this end, they at last acquire the same nature as if they had been specially formed 
for the purpose. 



DEFINITIONS. 



When any sort of motion is expressed to be going on independent of the will of the agent, as, the 
wood hums, the verb is termed neuter ; but the neuter state is in the agent, and not in the verb, which 
only conforms to the state of the noun. 



* These observations on Verbs and Prepositions are extracted from the Author's Bengali Grammar. 



THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE. 9 

If a verb denotes any particular kind of motion depending, or conceived to depend on the will of the 
agent, it is Active but intransitive ; that is, it implies voluntary motion, which is commonly called Action, 
as, he runs, &c. ; and when the motion passes on to an object on which it reposes, it is Active and 
Transitive, as, he strikes the child. 

Again, where motion is communicated from one agent to another, the verb expressive of the motion is 
termed Causal ; as he caused the horse to gallop ; but the Cause exists in the first agent ; the second is 
the Instrument ; and the action of the verb remains unaltered in nature, but is marked in all languages 
by some modification in the sound of the word, as ^T<LO {karite) to make, ^^T<.03 {kara'.te), to 
cause to make, in Bengali ; or, as in our own language, by compounding a verb implying agency with 
any infinitive expressive of the particular motion to be produced. 

When an object is affected by any action in which it has no agency, and is put in the nominative 
case, the Verb expressive of the action is termed Passive ; but the passion or suffering is in the object and 
not in the Verb; and in some languages this peculiar use of the Verb is simply marked by a modification 
of the Verb itself, as amo, I love, amor, I am loved, in Latin ; and J:J {katala\ he slew, and Jsi 
(kutila), he was slain, in Arabic. 

In our own, and in most derivative languages, the passive sense is conveyed by an attributive ex- 
pressive of past time, i. e. by a passive participle, and the affirmation of the different times is expressed 
by an auxiliary verb- 

The verb is termed Impersonal when it denotes any particular mode of motion resulting from the 
spontaneous operations of nature, as it rains; or from the fitness of things, as it behoves me to go. 
Hence Nature and Necessity are the real nominatives to such verbs. 

It thus appears that the Verb, whether we term it Neuter, Intransitive, Transitive, Causal, Passive, 
or Impersonal, was equally simple in its origin ; and that it is essentially the same in whatever voice it 
is used. The particular action, state, or passion it is supposed to imply, exists only in the agent or 
object, and not in itself. Still in almost all languages the sound of the verb is found modified to mark 
the voice in which it is used, though it is occasionally to be met with unaltered in sound, whether em- 
ployed in a transitive, intransitive, or neuter sense. Our own words to hear, to hum, to feel, &c. 
shew that this may be done without any misconception. 

From the foregoing remarks on the nature of the verb, it results, that Motion is its essential attri- 
bute ; and that those who hold it to be a mere connective, have not, perhaps, sufficiently considered 
its origin ; and have been led to observe its apparent use, which is often metaphorical, rather than its 
essential quality, which indicates different kinds of motion. But even when it is considered as a mere 
connective, it would be more correct to call it an affirmative. 

It would seem that the real cause why the nature of the verb has been so much controverted, has 
simply arisen from the very partial and unconnected view which has been taken of it in every research 



10 A SHORT INQUIRY INTO 

into language. It is only by considering it with reference to the Noun and the Preposition, which are 
its natural complements, that we can arrive at any just ideas upon the subject. But viewed in con- 
nection with these, its real nature becomes obvious. (See the remarks on the Prepositions.) 

After use had fixed the first forms of the verb, the rest were easily brought into existence by that love 
of analogy which is inseparably connected with the nature of the human mind. In our own language 
we can by convention form any number of verbs from nouns or adjectives. Thus we have made to shoe, 
to salt, to better, to blacken, &c., a peculiarity that tends to a singular conciseness and precision of 
expression. 

These remarks on the Verb have been hazarded under the hope of putting the matter in a clear and 
consistent light to the learner ; for the Verb is the very life of language ; the Noun is what it describes, 
and the Preposition, when requisite, defines the direction of its motion or action. Hence these three 
are the basis of all language, and must be employed or understood in almost every proposition ; but the 
other parts of speech may be either expressed by a circumlocution, or even altogether rejected. 

OF VOICES. 

As it often becomes a matter of difficulty to ascertain the exact Voice to which a verb belongs, the 
following remarks, in addition to what has been just said, are added, with a view of putting the subject in 
a clear light.* 

It is to be remarked, that in Sanskrit the fourth conjugation contains the great body of the neuter 
verbs, while at the same time it is that which in its middle voice is identical, in form, with the passive. 
The object is now to shew, that whatever purpose is effected by the letter ^ ya, which is the distinctive 
sign of the passive voice, is equally accomplished by the same letter for the fourth conjugation. In all 
languages there is an affinity between passive and neuter verbs, and there are some verbs that might be 
almost indifferently classed under the passive or neuter voice : such instances frequently occur in Ma no, 
the elucidation of which has led me to treat the subject at length. 

The verb Oli>lL\? jay ate, he is born, is classed by the Sanskrit grammarians in the fourth conju- 
gation, though, had they ranged it with the passive verbs, it would not have been changed in the 
slightest degree in form. That they have not done so shews the correctness of their notions of 
grammar. Dr. Johnson, in his Dictionary of the English Language, states that the verb to be bom is 
neuter-passive. The verb is originally passive, for when all its parts are supplied, it means to be borne 
by a mother; but in its popular and elliptical use, being employed without any reference to its agent, 
as when we say, he was born last year, it becomes truly a neuter verb, for it then merely affirms the 

* These remarks on the voices of verbs are extracted from the Author's edition of the Institutes ofManu, 
Vol. I. p. 329. 



THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE. 11 

first appearance of a child in the world. The verb nascor, in Latin, may be contested as belonging to 
the passive by its form, and to the neuter by its use ; for it answers the conditions of a deponent verb, 
which requires a passive form without a passive signification. The French derivative of nascor, i. e. 
naitre, is laid down to be neuter in the dictionary of the French Academy. In Hindustani the passive 
and some other verbs are conjugated with \j'c>- Jawa, to go, and none'but neuter ones with Uyj> honu, to 
he ; and in that language to be born is UjA Ijuj paida hond, and therefore neuter. Thus we see that 
we have the analogy of language for considering to be born as neuter by its use, whatever may be the 
conclusion we come to by a reference to its derivation. 

Perhaps the following reason for the solution of the equivocal nature of some neuter verbs may be of 
service, as affording a clue for determining their classification, and to shew why there is that similarity 
between the fourth conjugation and the passive voice in Sanskrit ; and between all neuter and passive 
verbs. 

The Subject both in the passive and neuter voice has no will or choice in the action implied by the 
verb : tlius, in the sentence he dies, the subject is affected by a state over which he has no control 
and which he would resist if he could ; and in that of he is killed, he suffers from an action he 
cannot avoid. In both these instances the subject is exposed to but one result, independent of his 
will ; the having or not having Which, constitutes the real distinction in all animal sufferings and actions. 
It is on this account, I conceive, that there is such a similarity between the fourth conjugation and the 
passive voice, for whether the subject of the verb be exposed to a state, or to an action, which he cannot 
avoid, he must be the object. If a conjecture might be offered as to the sense of the increment ^ ya, 
which is the distinctive sign of both the passive and the fourth conjugation, I would say, that it is con- 
nected with *ri ya or ^ ^, go, and that it fills the same office in Sanskrit which is done by the deri- 
vative jana, to go, in Hindustani and the other dialects. 

To define the difference in doubtful cases between a neuter and a passive verb, we have therefore 
only to consider whether the subject suffers from a state or an action ; that is, whether there is the 
agency of natural causes, or of an individual, in producing the effect implied by the verb. 

But if it be necessary, on the one hand, to distinguish accurately between the passive and the neuter, 
it is equally important to discriminate between the neuter and the intransitive verb, in nice and doubtful 
cases ; for the neuter verb holds an intermediate place between the passive and the intransitive : and 
here again the same test will give us the true definition ; namely, if the action implied by the verb de- 
pends upon its subject, we may be certain it is not neuter, and that the verb is consequently either 
transitive or intransitive. Had a rule of this kind, which would afford a logical arrangement, been 
kept in view, we should not have our grammarians differing about the nature of neuter verbs. That 
they have been much perplexed by making distinctions upon imperfect grounds of judgment, niay be 
seen by referring to Mr. Lindley Murray's English Grammar, on the Verb. The presence or absence 
of volition in the nominative can alone enable us to determine the nature of the verb, and consequently 



12 ■ A SHORT INQUIRY INTO 

by that test are we to be guided whether the nominative is the agent or the object. Upon this view of 
the matter I have arranged the different verbs as follows : and have given examples, lest any doubt 
should arise as to their classification. 

VOLUNTARY. 

The f Intransitive, as He runs, stands, sits. 

Nominative) Transitive, — He kills, strikes, Sfc. 

THE Reflective, — He kills, Sfc, {himself). 

AGENT. '■Causal, — He causes to kill, strike, Sfc. 

INVOLUNTARY. 

The rimpersonal, as It rains, thunders, snows, Sfc. 

Nominative) Neuter, — He dies, sleeps, drowns, Sfc. 

THE j Passive, — He is killed, struck, 8fc. 

OBJECT. '-Causal Passive, — He is caused to be killed, Sfc. 



OF PREPOSITIONS. 



The various local relations of objects are denoted by Prepositions ; but though all languages do 
not in every case make use of the same relations, yet there are some primary ones that are common to 
all, as up, down ; in, out, &c. As those persons who have not analysed language may find it difficult 
to attach a definite idea to the words local relation, it may be rendered more intelligible by saying, it 
is that idea which results from the mind contrasting together two things with reference to their mutual 
position : thus the sky is above the earth ; above therefore implies the relation between sky and earth ; 
but by altering our point of view we may say, the earth is beneath the sky; beneath therefore implies 
the relation between earth and sky. It is therefore evident that they were the first abstract words 
possessed by language. 

The Noun is the name of a thing ; the Verb describes its mode of motion or action ; and the Pre- 
position defines the direction of that motion ; that is, whether it is to, from, by, against, under, over, 
&c. any given object. Hence its primary sense is that of local relation. 

Thus Prepositions were originally employed to define the relative situations of the different objects 
of nature, which were of course, in the infancy of society, the first things that required the employ- 
ment of speech. But in proportion as the impressions received through the senses began to be com- 
pared and comprehended, the operations of the intellect were developed, and almost imperceptibly, a 



THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE. 13 

new application of language was required to express the various relations of abstract ideas. And 
though there may seem to be no necessary connection between abstract notions and the relations of 
material things ; yet, as the comprehension of the former gradually arises out of the consideration 
of the modes of material existence, so this first and simple language, which had resulted from the 
necessity of describing whatever came within the scope of the senses, was at last employed to denote 
the abstract conceptions of the mind ; because it afforded a natural analogy, and saved the trouble 
of a new, and perhaps impossible, convention. Hence it must be purely metaphorical, as often as it 
is employed in the description of mental perceptions. 

The obvious distinction between language which had been invented to describe natural objects, and 
its figurative application to denote abstract ideas, must never be \ost sight of in practice. For, when 
Prepositions are employed for the purposes for which they were invented, they mark the relations 
of local position j as, " The bird flew to, above, hefore, behind, &c. the tree." But when the same 
Prepositions are borrowed by a figurative use to express abstract conceptions ; as, " Fancy triumphs 
over reason," or " The mind revolts against oppression," they imply nothing more than a mere mental 
contrast ; and by convention we agree to think that what we assimilate in our minds to above and 
before, &c. is better than what we designate by below and behind, &c. though there can be neither up 
nor down, before nor after, in what is purely mental. 

From what has been remarked above, it will be evident that Prepositions were, in the origin of 
language, almost as indispensable as verbs ; for without their aid few verbs could convey a definite 
idea, as the Prepositions alone denote the direction of the action of the verb. Perhaps they had 
been more properly termed directives, definitives, or limitatives than Prepositions. TSee the Remarks 
on the Verb.) 

In the foregoing concise view of the nature of Prepositions, it is not pretended to give a decided 
opinion how they have come into their present form and use in the Sanskrit language, but merely to 
say that the closest and most impartial consideration bestowed on the subject confirms the belief 
already expressed, that as they are the natural complement of the noun and verb, whether they are 
primitive words or are employed in a figurative sense, they at last express but one distinct relation, 
which is in its primary use a local one, and implies either up or down, in or out, &c. A reference to 
some words employed in the Bengali, Hindustani, and other dialects springing from the Sanskrit, is 
of great value in elucidating the manner in which such words are divested of their original nature, and 
restricted to a given use. The word ^5X[^ samipa originally meant, as is clear by its etymology, in 
the vicinity of water,* but it is now used for in the vicinity or near generally. So the Bengali par- 



* ^3ptt° ^3?fltt^n , Manu II, 104. This etymology of the word '^'^^ is supported by Sanskrit 
grammarians : see Sir Charles Wilkins' Gram., Rule 1177. 



14 A SHORT INQUIRY INTO 

ticiple^^CvS Mite, being, as a preposition implies /ro/». In Hind6stani fjA) pas, near, is a corruption 
of the Sanskrit form nK"^ pdrswe, in the side ; and ^^ men, in, seems to be derived ffom the 
Sanskrit "S^<V madhye, in the middle. These instances, which we can still trace to the original 
language, are sufficient to shew how words totally different in their nature may come at last to imply 
but one relation ; and to this state they are brought by the very nature of the human mind, and those 
external causes that control and force language into such special classes, as Noun, Verb, and Pre- 
position. The strongest reason that could be assigned for the primitive nature of Sanskrit Prepositions 
is the fact of their being often the shortest words in the language, and being incapable of decompo- 
sition or analysis except in the instance of the word T^ i . It ought not likewise to be forgotten that 
the inseparable Prepositions, being compounded with verbs and nouns, have been preserved by this 
union from the corruptions and changes which would have affected them in a separate state j and this 
may be one reason why there is less difference between the Prepositions in Greek, Latin, and 
Sanskrit (when they are the words of the same stock) than between the other words that are found to 
co-exist in these three cognate languages. 

Prepositions are a very important part of speech ; and particularly in so pure a language as the 
Sanskrit. A little attention to the etymology of the language may finally save the learner much time 
and trouble ; as well as give him a more perfect knowledge of its structure than he could acquire from 
riierelyjearning the words by rote. And in those instances where the words cannot be resolved by 
any general rules of etymology, we must bear in mind that many must be founded upon allusions 
which are lost in the remoteness of antiquity. It should not be forgotten, likewise, that terms of 
more modern formation ai'e generally less pure than the more ancient ones, owing to the compounds 
being formed without a reference to the distinction between the physical and the figurative senses 
of the elementary words. It is owing to this defect, which comes on with the growth of language, 
that Greek words compounded with a preposition admit of such unsatisfactory analysis. Indeed 
though the Greek language has retained many of the peculiarities of the Sanskrit, particularly in the 
forms of the verbs, yet in its words it is so much corrupted, that we might be inclined to believe that 
it was introduced amongst a people whose organs of utterance were as unfitted for correctly 
imitating the original sounds, as those of our Saxon ancestors were for pronouncing the Norman 
French.* Still, it is possible, that much of this apparent corruption arose from the circumstance that 
the Greeks, like many of the modern nations, adopted an alphabet unfitted to express the sounds 
peculiar to their language. 

* It probably is owing to this, and to the adoption of the Phcenician alphabet, that there is so much that 
is anomalous in the Greek language. The languages that are written with alphabets derived from the 
Phoenician class do, with the exception of the Greek and Latin, omit the vowels, while those of Hindu 

origin 



THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE. . 15 

' In conclusion it remains only to say that in the foregoing view of the Noun, the Verb, and the Pre- 
position, the truth has been elicited by a reference to their mutual dependence on one another ; and 
whoever considers the subject in the same connected point of view must come to the same result. As 
a general rule, whenever any verb implies a physical motion, such as to fly, to run, to leap, &c. the 
preposition employed will be found to express a local relation, as to fly up, to fly down, &c., and that 
such simple senses of the prepositions must be their primary significations is as clear as that the 
figurative meanings are those that are borrowed from them. To find, therefore, as a general rule, 
the original sense of a Preposition or Verb, we have only to consider whether it is employed in a 
physical or a figurative sense. 

OF INSEPARABLE PREPOSITIONS. . 

In assigning the meanings of the following Prepositions, the primary, that is the local relation 
which they convey is printed in capitals ; while those senses which arise from the primary idea by 
implication, or by a figurative use, are printed in italics. But it must not be thencie concluded that 
they have really so many various significations. The multitude of nicely discriminative Prepositions 
in our own language, is the cause why we almost invariably reserve each of them to define but one 
relation of things ; though in figurative language what denotes before would equally well imply ^rs?, 
or against, and so on for the others. But even among our own Prepositions, though we could (as far 
as regards meaning) most accurately substitute other particles that should convey every signification 
of hy, as well as its primary sense of near, yet custom has determined that we must use it, instead 



drigin almost invariably express them. The Greeks, in adapting the Phoenician alphabet to the wants of 
their own language, were obliged to form vowels out of consonants. Would not this fact lead to a sus- 
picion that they had already been accustomed to an alphabet in which the vowels were always written ; and 
is not this idea confirmed by bearing in mind that, unlike the Phoenician which is written from right to left, 
they oscillated between the two modes, and after using the Bustrophedon finally recurred to the same plan as 
the nations from which they derived their origin and language, and wrote from left to right, in addition to 
making use of -vowels ? The question of the cligamma, which is involved in so much obscurity and has given 
.rise to so much controversy, has entirely arisen out of the adaptation of the Phoenician alphabet to a 
language for which, by the nature of its construction, it was singularly unfitted. The principle on which the 
Phoenician alphabet has been formed is one main cause why the Hebrew, Arabic, and other kindred dia- 
lects for which it was originally invented, have been preserved in such purity to the present time. But it 
must be remembered that it was framed expressly for this particular class of languages. 

c 2 



J6 A SHORT INQUIRY INTO 

of any other, in very many instances ; and this word affords a good example of the way in whith the 
following primary and figurative meanings of the Prepositions are to be understood. 

If the figurative meaning assigned to one Preposition may seem occasionally to encroach upon that 
laid down for another, it should be remembered, that a word must necessarily, when metaphorically 
employed, be often equally capable of conveying the same idea as one whose primary signification is 
very different ; for this reason the idea of excellence or superiority may be equally well denoted, in 
figurative language, by the word before, as by above, or beyond. 

The Prepositions cannot be added at pleasure to a root or word ; but their use must be determined 
by the custom of the language. Two or three are very often prefixed to one root, and, though rarely, 
even four may be found added, as in the word "^^I^^J I 5i\i surrounded, attended upon, in which 
there are ^°, •^I'O, T^, and ^311 prefixed to the root"^ take. Except when such words have been 
formed by poetical license, we must suppose that these Prepositions have been added successively to 
modify the meaning of the first word. Thus we must suppose that^vj was modified by the addition 
of ^1 , and that *3lT^^ was again modified by the addition of T^, and <)\ ^si by ^|^, &c. ; 
and though these intermediate forms may no longer be found, it is no proof that they did not once exist 
in some state or other of compound verb or verbal derivative. 

It may still be objected that there is a large body of nouns, regularly formed by the union of pre- 
positions with roots, that seem quite absolute in the meanings assigned to them, and for the use of 
which convention can alone be pleaded ; and that therefore any reference to the original meaning 
of the prepositions and roots can be of no utility. To this it may be replied, that undoubtedly at first 
sight such words as ^STT^ W ahara, food, <JV^}sS vyahriti, a sacred sentence, &c. though com- 
pounded from the prepositions ^1 a and T^ vi and the root "^ hri, to take, to seize, &c. can hardly 
be forced into the sense assigned to the increments of which they are formed. If, however, we 
reflect a little on the subject, we shall see that they have not acquired these senses in an arbitrary 
way, but conformably to certain principles which an attentive enquiry into the language cannot fail 
to discover. Thus the verb ^i 5i ahri, in strict accordance to the signification of its component 
elements, means " To take (any thing) to (one's self);" hence the substantive ^l^K ahara 
denotes, " That which is taken to himself by any one," i. e. food, nourishment. The verb <!H ^ 
vyahri signifies " To utter, to express, to speak ;" whence the substantive < ^ 1 ^ I sj vyahriti * means 

* It is not without interest to see how these forms arise in language : '^1'<^I*^ ff^ara appears to be a 
modification of the imperative singular, employed in the same way as we do the Latin recipe for a noun : 
^JT^ |sj vyahriti, and such forms, are evidently modifications of the perfect participle. So in Latin this 
pari of speech seems to have given rise to such nouns as evectus, carriage, conveyance ; questus, com- 
plaint, «S:c. . . 



THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE. 17 

** Whatever is uttered or spoken,^' i. e. A sentence. The close connection of nouns such as these 
with tlie verbal roots of the language, has not escaped the observation of the native Hindu gramma- 
rians and commentators, who frequently state at once the etymology and the meaning of a substan- 
tive, by merely assigning the verb, whether simple or compound, which has given origin to it. 
The two words just alluded to would, according to the method of the Pandits, be thus explained : 
^f|lTr3 tfiS ^^t^§, ^nflUi:^ tt^ ^^r^S. in the same way in English an 
oversight implies the thing which is overseen, provision is the thing which is provided^ &c. It 
must be clear that this is ©ne of the inevitable expedients to which the human mmd has 
recourse to abridge useless prolixity of discourse, and at the same time to preserve those ana- 
logies which are the only guides that can secure the certainty of not being misunderstood. It is 
unnecessary to extend these examples further, as the sagacity of the learner will soon lead him to trace 
out the origin of such words from the instances here brought to his mind, 

Mr. Wilson, the learned Professor of Sanskrit in the University of Oxford, in the Preface to the 
second edition of his valuable Sanskrit Dictionary, remarks upon the vague and arbitrary manner in 
which he conceives the Sanskrit prepositions are used in composition with the roots ; but as it appears 
to me that there is a perfect analogy in the manner in which they are employed, I have ventured to 
quote his observations, and to analyze his examples according to the views about to be explained. 

" It is also difficult," says Professor Wilson, " if not impossible, to provide in one language an 
equivalent for every shade of meaning which the terms of another may be made to convey, especially 
in a language like the Sanscrit, in which compound verbs and their derivatives are often used in a 
vague and arlsitrary manner, or even when they may be thought to offer some connexion with their 
original import, do so in a remote and indeterminate degree. It would be easy to multiply instances 
of this nature, but the following will be sufficient at present. 

" The verb Tm * to serve ' when combined with the prefix ^311^ most commonly means ' to have 
recourse to for asylum or support.' This idea, although it may be considered as the basis of the 
various applications made of the derivatives of the verb, is not always very evident in such phrases 
as these : (1) ^< ri<<'^Ml"f&^° Confiding in tire strength of his own arm ;' (2) ^^tTFTtf^l 
Standing at a window ; (3) ^i^l^tf^g Seated on a seat ; (4) Sll^^'^t^firl'l "il^^^ By 
Skanda riding on the hack of a peacock ; (5) ^il^^^f^to) Displaying valour, (6) ^tSira^tf^Cl) 
Affected by desire ; (7) §^11^° ^^^° High-spirited speech ; (8) ^°^\5IltftcD Speaking 
Sanscrit ; (9) ^^T^TTg ^toJITtttol ^1 f^l^° A prohibition regarding either a crude noun or 
an affix, &c. Now here, neither sitting, nor standing, nor riding, nor speaking can in any way be 
regarded as the proper interpretations of ^Tf^ and its derivatives, and it might convey an erroneous 
idea of their real purport so to render them in a dictionary, although they may be legitimately 
expressed in translations by similar equivalents." Preface, p. ix. 



18 A SHORT INQUIRY INTO 

r 

The compound verb ^Tj^ asri, properly, must be limited to signify " to resort or have 
recourse to (a person or tiling for any purpose, e. g. for asylum, support, &c.)." The sense of the 
noun ^IwHT asraya may thence be easily deduced by the Hindu method above alluded to : *^t|^UC\!J 
■<|\j >3I"liyUo " Whatever is resorted to (for any purpose) is '^ImXT asraya, a resource.'^ To this 
primarj' meaning of ^lT>4 may be traced back all the different senses which its derivatives admit 
or demand in the combinations enumerated by Professor Wilson. The first phrase may be literally 
rendered, " Having recourse to the strength of his arm ;" the second, " Having recourse (or resorting) 
to a window ;" the third, ** Having recourse to (availing himself of) a seat ;" the fourth, " By 
Skanda resorting to (availing himself of) the back of a peacock;" the fifth (appears to be inserted 
by mistake, but the additional preposition O^ upa does not seem to affect the sense in any great 
degree) " Having recourse to valour ;" the sixth, " Having recourse to love (i. e. yielding to the 
power of love) ;" the seventh, " Speech which has recouree to vigour or energy ;" the eighth, 
" Resorting to (using, employing) the Sanskrit language;" and the ninth, " A prohibitive rule 
which resorts or applies to either a crude noun or a suffix." 



GENERAL RULE. 



When a Preposition is prefixed to a verb or participle it has then the force of an adverb. But 
when it is prefixed to an original noun it then assumes the nature of an adjective. 

A want of attention to this simple distinction is the cause why such compounds appear to be so 
capricious and uncertain in their significations. 



^311 a. TO, AT : figur. perfect, complete.* 

This Preposition denotes the relation subsisting between two things which both extend to the same 
point, hence it defines the limit of the action of any verb ; as he loent to the house : i. -e. up to the 
house. If prefixed to a root implying going, it makes it to mean coming; and if to a root signifying 
giving, it makes it imply taking ; because the root only expresses some kind of motion generally; thus 
what goes to any one, comes to him ; and again what is given to any one, is implied to be taken. Its 
use as a prefix to all words but verbs, may seem rather obscure, except we remember that junction 
with what we desire implies completeness and perfection ; thus ^l\3l abha, splendor, from ^ bhd, 
shine. This Preposition will be found to be as nearly as possible the reverse of ^5Pl apa. It is 

* Agreeably to what has just been said, the primary local relation expressed by any Preposition is 
printed in capitals, and the figurative senses are given in italics. 



THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE. 



19 



identified with the Greek a, and the Latin ad, in which the d is pleonastic, as in prodesse and prodeo^ 
without the same necessity for its insertion, as in these two examples, where its use is to prevent any 
hiatus in sound. In original Sanskrit grammars it is written ^T° . 

^3P1 apa, OFF, or away: figur. inferior, bad. 

This Preposition may be considered as the reverse of ^1 a, as it marks the relation subsisting be- 
tween objects which are off or away from one another; hence it denotes disjunction. Prefixed to 
a verb of motion it makes it imply separation ; as ^^*T3 apagata, gone, away, or off; and added to 
any other kind of root or word, it deteriorates, or reverses the sense ; because disjunction im- 
plies imperfection ; as ^SPf^^ apakrita, hindered, from ^ kri, do ; ^5Pl^^ apachaya, loss, from 
T^ chi, accumulate. It is identified in origin with the Greek am, the Latin ah, and the English 

off 

wj pra, FORE, or before : figur. prior, exceeding, excellent, very. 

Prefixed to a verb of motion, it will of course seem to imply progressive motion, as forth, forward, 
&c.; but the Preposition merely marks the direction of the motion implied by the verb. As that which 
precedes, exceeds, and is generally conceived to be better than that which follows ; and as that which 
is before, is beyond the thing it is in contrast with, this Preposition serves to mark priority, excess, 
excellence, and intensity. 

It is identified in origin with the Greek iiTpo ; the Latin pro and pree ; but pro seems generally to 
express the primary idea, and prce the figurative senses. And, finally, it is the same as the English 
for or fo7-e. 
' ^1^ para, opposite : figur. over, across, contrary, reverse. 

The relation intended by this Preposition expresses the situation of anything which is opposite to 
something else; as the further bank of a river,* &c. ; hence it implies, 1. The position of any thing 



* This is the only preposition which admits of analysis ; it is therefore of singular value in throwing light 
upon the history of these primitive words. The preposition ^*^l para implies the relation that exists 
between two lines that are exactly opposite and therefore para WeZ (?r«p' aM«X97v) and equal to one another. 
In Sanskrit the near shore of a river is termed ^l'^ vara, but the opposite shore is called ^^*h para, 
almost the very word we are considering ; the word i ^ para too means other, beyond, and has given 
birth to the Greek 5rEf«. In Latin we have par, adj. equal, even, corresponding, and from thence par, a 
pair, a match, an equal, and from this has sprung the French pair, the English pair and peer : all these 
senses arise out of the idea of two things exactly opposite and therefore equal to one another ; and this 
Preposition, whether employed in Sanskrit or Greek, is so true to its origin, that it always implies a 
reference to two things, one of which is meant to be opposite and equai to the other : so a paradox, ira^aoo^oc,^ 

is 



20 A SHORT INQUIRY INTO 

opposite or over the way; so ^T^TlJ'M parakrama (over-s^ep) :* any great exertion ; as strength ^ 
prowess, valour, Sac. and ^ •^ 1*1 paraga (oyer-going^. an eclipse; dust, &c. 2. Contrariety ; as ^< 1^ 
parak ingoing across): crooked, crookedly . 3. What is reverse; as n^^T^2^I*U paranmuhha (^face- 
reversed): having the face diVexie^ ; anOi^i^A^^ parabhuta {become reversed); overcome. It might 
equally well denote what is parallel, or equal to ; but it is very little used, and almost every instance 
of its occurrence has been exhausted in the foregoing examples. It seems exactly to correspond to, 
and to have a common origin with the Greek 'napa. and the Latin par^ 

"511^ adhi. OVER : figur. superior (in station, quantity, quality ,^ or degree). 

It marks the relative position of something over, or above, another ; and hence denotes that the 
action of the verb passed over, or above some given object ; as "SI^sJ adhita (gone over^, i, e. 
perused. Prefixed to nouns, it denotes their superiority in station, quantity, quality, or degree, 
according to their meaning. 

rT ni. IN, or WITHIN, on, upon: figur. entire, perfect, complete, ceasing, refraining. 
'■■ This Preposition marks the relation between two things, one of which is contained by the other ; as 
TmT^\3 nichita {collected in) : full, complete, from T^^ chi, accumulate. The idea of wholenesSy 
perfection, and completeness naturally arises in considering any object as having all its parts within 
itself. As what remains in, is implied to be in a state of cessation or refraining, this Preposition is 
occasionally employed to express both these states; so PT^^ nivritta {turned in): ceased, from 
^^ vrit, turn ; and T'T<14 1 nivara (refraining from a choice) : a virgin, from ^ vri, choose ; be- 
cause anciently females had the right of choosing a husband, who is hence called << vara, which 
properly signifies a choice. It is sometimes apparently confounded with PT^ nir. In origin and 
meaning it is the same as the Greek h, and the Latin and English in. 

T'T^ nir. OUT, or without: figur. void, or destitute of v^o nih, rv\ nis, |*1^ wish, rf^ 
nis, are forms of which it is susceptible, according to the nature of the first letter of the word to 
which it is joined. 

The relation existing between two things of which one is outside of the other, is denoted by this 
Preposition ; hence it serves, without any ambiguity, to mark destitution, or privation ; as |*K l<^|\* 
nirakriti (without a form) : formless. But even its most literal meaning will convey, under another 
point of view, an opposite sense ; as pT^ C>n nirvachana, speaking out, an explaining or narrating. 



is an opinion contrary to the usual one. The opposite bank of a river, called para, therefore naturally 
suggested the relation intended to be conveyed by the Sanskrit t^ ' para, aiid the Greek wafa . 

* The meaning put between parentheses is that which I derive from the word by Etymology, but those 
which immediately follow it are taken from the Dictionaries of the language. 



THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE. 21 

&c.* It agrees exactly in sense, but not in origin, with the Greek el, the Latin ex, and the 
English out. 

^*^ sam. WITH, or beside : figur. complete, perfect. 

^T?^ sanff^ "^T^ san, ^^ san, "^l*!^ san, "^IM^ sam, are forms which it will be found occasionally 
to assume, according to the letter with which the word to which it is prefixed commences. 

This Preposition denotes the relation existing between things which are beside one another ; hence 
it conveys the idea of accompaniment, completeness, and perfection. The Greek ffliv, and the Latin 
cum, con, seem perfectly identified with it in origin and signification. 

^1^ abhi. BEFORE : figur. first, better, against. 

The relation existing between objects, of which one is before or in front of the other, is expressed 
by this preposition ; as ~3T|^^h1 abkimukha (before the face): present. As what is before may be 
considered as first and better than other things with which it has a relation, this Preposition is some- 
times employed for that purpose ; as "^ I ^^51 M abhijata (first, or better-Jorra) : noble. It seems to 
be of the same origin as the Latin ob. The difference between it and ^ pra, may be, that the latter 
expresses something before, without relation to distance ; while ~3IT^ abhi conveys the idea of what 
is immediately before, or in front. 

^*3^ anu. AFTER : figur. following, imitating, successive. 

When of two things one is after the other, the relation existing between them is expressed by this 
Preposition ; as ^"^^ anuga (going after) : following. So what is done after any thing else, im- 
plies imitation; thus ^■^S^^\^ anukara (a doing aher): imitation, resemblance. It further serves 
to mark regular succession, as ^'T^IpSX anukrama {step after step^ : order, due succession, arrange- 
ment. 

O^ ut, or O^ ud. UP : figur. high, elevated, superior. 

This Preposition agrees exactly with our up, and marks the relative position of any thing that is up 
or above something else : hence its figurative senses. It corresponds in sense to the Greek ava. 

^31^ ava. DOWN : figur. low, contemptible, bad. 

It is the reverse of the preceding Preposition, and marks the relation between things one of which 
is below the other, and added to a verb implies that its action had a downward tendency; as ^<lvil<^ 
avatar a, {passing down) descent, incarnation, from ^ tri, pass; and ^^H^ avagata, {gone down 



* Here we have an instance of the General Rule already laid down that the nature of the word to 
which the preposition is added reacts on the preposition and modiBes its meaning : in this instance, being 
added to the verbal noun the sense is reversed : this is one cause of the obscurity in which this branch of 
grammar has been so long involved. 



22 A SHORT INQUIRY INTO 

through, as a passage in a book,) i. e. comprehended, or understood, in which latter word an analogous 
metaphor will be observed to prevail. It deteriorates or reverses the sense of nouns to which it is prefixed, 
by the same figurative use as ^3P1 apa, because what is beneath another is considered inferior when 
used in a figurative sense; thus ^^^^ avarasa, a bad taste, from ^^ rasa, a taste, and v41«tlb 
avarudha, dismounted, from <3?'^ ruh, mount. It corresponds in sense but not in origin to the 
Greek xaro. 

O^ upa. NEAR, or by: similar, inferior, subordinate. 

When two things are near each other, their relative position is marked by ^^ upa; as O^M^ 
upagata (^gone near) ; approached, from ^T3 gata, gone. What is near another in kind, is similar 
but inferior ; therefore ^Hn T<k upanama (near or almost a name') : a hy-name, a nick-name. 
^^1<?^ upadhurma (similar to a law, a subordinate law) : a hy-law. There seems to be a per- 
fect resemblance between this Preposition, in signification and origin, with the Greek w-srs and 
the Latin sub, though in the latter language the figurative has usurped the place of the primitive 



sense. 



T^ vi. APART : figur. peculiar, distinct, different, without. 

This Preposition denotes the relation in the state of a thing that is apart, or separate from 
another ; thus T^T^^ vikshipta, (^thrown apart) : scattered. Hence it figuratively implies 
peculiarity, or distinctness. It expresses the same idea as in common to our own and other lan- 
guages, when we say any thing has a "peculiar form;" by which we mean that it has a form apart, 
or distinct from something else, and which may be either good or bad by convention, but more com- 
monly the latter. Thus T^^i^ virupa (peculiar form) : deformed, monstrous. As the idea of 
privation naturally arises from that which expresses separation, this Preposition is frequently so 
employed ; as T4i^*^ viphala (without fruit): fruitless; and in this sense it is identified with the 
Persian p bi. It seems to agree in sense and origin with the Latin de and di, which are perhaps 
corrupt forms of ve, as found in vecors and vesanus; but it is perfectly preserved in the Latin vidua^ 
which is identical with the word 1*^^^^ vidhava (vi without, dhava, a husband) : whence also the 
Saxon pibpa, from which comes the English widow. 

^^ pari, around: figur. entirely, thoroughly. 

This Preposition denotes the relation between things one of which is around something else ; as 
^ I < I tc^^ parikshipta (thrown around) : surrounded, entrenched. Hence it figuratively conveys the 
idea of any thing entirely done ; because what is done all around implies completeness, or finish ; as 



<r 



^tt^^^ paripurna, entirely, or quite full. It seems to agree in every respect with the Greek ttsp, 
and the Latin per. 

^n^ prati. again, back again, over again, against : figur. resistance, repetition, reflection ; 
much. 



[Iv>4'-i 



THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE. ^^^^^^^H 23 

It denotes the relation existing between things which by repetition return again in a sort of order. 
This idea is suggested by the winding back and forward of a rivulet,* or of a path, the coil of a 
rope, &c. Hence it marks, 1. Resistance; as ^ |\iltd?^3 pratikshipta {fiung back again) : rejected; 
repelled, resisted. 2. Repetition; as ^T^^^ pratihrishta {^ploughed again): twice ploughed. 3. 
Return; as ^ ^^^ pratyuttara (answering back again): reply. 4. Reflection; as ^IsiO^tTTl 
pratichhaya (shadow back again) : a reflection, image, or picture. And from this repetition arises 
the idea of intensity ; as 5. m\^^^^ pratisrishta (distinguished again and again): renowned. It is 
the exact equivalent of the Latin re. 

"^hJ ati. BEYOND : figur. excessive, great, very. 

The relation subsisting between objects, one of which is beyond the other, is signified by this Pre-' 
position ; as ^T'^L'Tl atinau, beyond the boat, ^t^^^'T atipatana {going beyond) : transgression. 
Hence it conveys the idea of excess, as '^IsS^ll'T atidana, excessive liberality ; and ~3Ip3^T^ 
ativriddhi, great increase, ^M ^'^ atidura, very distant. It expresses exactly the same relation as 
the Latin trans, and the Greek [Atra. 

^T^ api. UPON. 

This Preposition, which is so common in Greek, is so rarely employed, that it might have been 
omitted without inconvenience. It seems to denote the relation of any object that is upon another* 
as ^^\Vi*^ apinaddha {bound upon): accoutred. As a conjunction its use is very common, im- 
plying moreover, also, likewise, which seems to corroborate the sense here assigned to it. It is of the 
same origin as the Greek em. 

^ su. good:+ figur. proper, excellent, fit, beautiful, kind, easy, pleasing, very, &c. 



* Mankind in ihe infancy of language must have found the idea of repetition extremely difficult, and if 
we bear in mind that the English words two-fold, three-fold ; the Latin duplex, triplex, and the Sanskrit 
dwiguna, triguna (two twists, three twists), all convey ideas borrowed from some material objects, we shall 
be convinced that it is to such things that the speaker must have had recourse to suggest this idea to another. 
A folding screen or a fan conveys the idea exactly of a thing which is repeated in exact order ; but in the 
infancy of society a winding stream, the folds of the skin, or the coil of a rope, would present the most 
obvious images. 

+ It must strike the scholar that the meaning of good assigned to this Preposition, and that of bad to the 
next, is contrary to the principle laid down that every preposition implied local relation : this objection is so 
obvious that it requires explanation. The prepositions, according to the nature of the word with which they 
were compounded, acted either as adverbs or adjectives, and were consequently the earliest words of that 
kind possessed by language. The first adjectives required would be goorf and Jarf, and the question imme- 

D 2 dialely 



24 A SHORT INQUIRY INTO 

This Preposition is only employed to enhance the value of nouns and adjectives ; hence it conveys, 
according to the nature of the word to which it is prefixed, the idea of 1. Perfection, or goodness: 



diately occurs which of the prepositions would best imply these two ideas. Independently of the general 
reasoning that might lead us to a just conclusion, we have the aid afrorded by analogy. 

In Latin propt means near, and from it arises the adjective ^ropnws, and (hence comes likewise the 
French /jro^jre and the English /jro/jer, meaning good,^t, &c. From proprius likewise descends proprietas, 
property. In Sanskrit too the preposition "^sm seems to have entered into the adjective ^I'^sw + as, ozcn, 
and the noun xi su + am, properti/, hence we see why we have the Latin suus (sm + ms) his oren^ implying 
aho proper, due, lawful. Now if we were to ask how land would be apportioned out among a population 
beginning to feel its value, certainly the law would be that each man should take that which was nearest to 
him, and thence vicinage would he held to confer the highest right in the division of the yet unappropriated 
earth. As an illustration, let us suppose for a moment men thrown upon an uninhabited island : as long as the 
hope of escape remained, if they had families, they would simply confine themselves to the preparation of 
some means of shelter from the weather; but as soon as the conviction arose that they must pass their lives 
where they were, an allotment of the land would take place, and each would claim that which was nearest 
to his own dwelling, and which on that account would be considered as his own property. The connection of 
this word with the idea of nearness is thus established, as well as with that of property. Its original signifi- 
cation therefore seems to be close, and the difference between it and O li upa is that the latter means 
proximity in a general sense, while "^ sm implies c/ose cow^acf; an idea supported by the English verb to 
meet, which gives rise to the adjectives meet, proper, right, good, &c. : and to befitting, that is, to be right, 
proper, good, &c. and which springs from the idea of things that fit together. The sense of good springs 
naturally from the idea of what belongs to ourselves in relation to the individual, the family, or the nation ; 
thus our own opinions, our own family descent and customs, our own national qualities, we must from our 
very nature consider as better than those of others; and so true is language to this leading idea, that we call 
our property our goods (in French nos biens). This subject may be further illustrated by a reference to the 
Persian : M. Burnouf's researches have demonstrated that the Sanskrit ^ '^^'^^swO'dattas, self-given, self- 
manifested, (Latin sui datus) is the original of the Zend kadata, from this comes the modern Persian iJci- 
kJiudd, which is identical with the Saxon and English God. In a similar manner, the Sanskrit ^"^^u + as, 
o^n, having given birth to the Persian khu + d, own, self, (the letter J d being the pleonastic letter in Per- 
sian as in Latin) would lead to the belief that this last word is the original of the Saxon jotj and English good. 
The truth of the foregoing inquiry is singularly confirmed by a reference to the Greek ; for the preposition 
£u goof/ gives birth to the adjectives ^i^i good, and the connection of £o'j his own with Ef good, in the same 
way as ^ su, good, with ^"^sj^ + rts, his own, is thus brought to light perhaps for the first time. The 
Creek aspirate in the above and other instances takes the place of the Latin and Sanskrit s, and is therefore 

quite 



THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE. 



'^'T^^l supatha, an excellent, or good road. 2. Fitness, or propriety ; as ^hTT^^ sukhadya (fit, or 
proper to he eaten): wholesome. 3. Beauty; as ^T^t[ suranga (beautiful in colour^: the oranye. 
4. Kindness; as 'T^^ suhrit («kind hearty, afi-iend. 5. Facility; as ^T^^ sukara (easily done): 
practicable. 6. Pleasingness ; as "^^ sukha (pleasing the senses): pleasure. 7. Superiority ; as 
^^^ suvarna (superior class, or colour (to silver) : gold Compare T^Mn silver). 8. Intensity; as 
^^o[,^ sutikshna, very acute. It is exactly the reverse of dur or dus, and agrees in signification and 
origin vrith the Greek bu. 

'^'•^ dur. bad:* figur. improper, vile, unfit, difficult, displeasing , paucity , &c. 

Tj"S duh, "1^*1^ dus, 1^^ c?MsA, l^^"*!^ dus, are forms which it must assume according to the consonant 
with which the word it is prefixed to may begin. 

As it is exactly the reverse of ^ su, it is employed lo depreciate the nouns and adjectives to which 
it is joined ; on this account it denotes 1. Vileness, or badness ; as ^^^ duradhwa, a bad road : 2. 
Unfitness or impropriety ; as T^^T^H duralapa (improper speech): abuse. 3. Difficulty ; as /J'b'^ 
duschara (difficult to go) : impracticable. 4. Displeasingness ; as "l^o^ duhkha (displeasing to the 
senses): pain. b. Paucity ; as W'M'^ durbala (o/ little strength): weak. Q. Inferiority ; ^^"^^^ 
durvarna (inferior class, or colour (to gold) (compare '*V^^ gold) : silver. The Greek SVj, and the 
Latin dis, seem to have a perfect analogy with it, in sense and origin. 

Though, strictly speaking, the following words are adverbs, yet as they are very frequently used in 
the same manner as prepositions, they are on this account inserted immediately after them. 

^<^^ adhas. down, downwards, below : figur. low, vile. '3I<o adhah, ^<^ adhar, ■3I<7'1 
adhas, ^^<^"l adho, are forms which it may occasionally assume when in composition. 



quite distinct from the digamma. If there is any truth in this argument^ the original sense of ^' must be 
CLOSE or NEAR, ffom which is derived the idea of ow7i; and, from own, good. 

* Nearly all that has been said regarding ^ su will, in a reversed sense, apply to this preposition. 
Whatever was distant, was considered as bad : in this way, foreign, outlandish, strange, &c. are always 
used by the vulgar with, a deteriorating sense, and hence I have little doubt that this preposition is connected 
in origin with the Sanskrit ^"^ dura, distant. The English word bad is evidently the same as the Persian 
JkJ bad ; and if we had any evidence that the Scandinavian nations migrated from the shores of the Caspian 
after the intermixture of the Medes and Persians, I would almost without hesitation refer the origin of the 
Persian Jo bad to some Syriac form connected with the Arabic tX*J buad, distance ; for we know that the 
Pahlevi or border language was a mixture of a Syriac dialect with the old Persic, and this supposition would 
satisfactorily account for the many words apparently of the Semitic stock found in the Teutonic dialects. 
The original signification of '^^^dur must therefore be far, from which is derived the iJea of b\d. 



2(> A SHORT INQUIRY. 

-31^^ antar, ^iloio antaJi, '^\3'*X antas, &c. Within, between, among. It is the same as the 
Latin inter. 

CJ^T^ vpari. ABOVE or over : figur. ExceMing, surpassing . 

It is identified in origin and signification with the Greek vw\^y the Latin super, the Gothick ufar, and 
the English over. 

n<~*l^j[>w?'as. IN FRONT, BEFORE : figur. prior, first, n^o purah, ^'^"[^puras, ^^ /)m?-o, are 
forms which it may occasionally assume. It seems identified with the Greek B-for. 

^T^'^ raJiis. OUT, outwards, external. ^T^o vahih, ^xK^vahir, ^\^^\vahis, are forms 
which it may occasionally assume. 



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